Persistent Park Slopers Push MTA To Make Station Upgrades

WNYC debuted “Design by Community” yesterday, a new series that investigates how New Yorkers address issues in their communities and unite to make a difference.

The first story in the series focuses on two Park Slope residents, SJ Avery and Grace Freedman, who were fed up with the MTA’s neglecting the long-overdue repairs needed at the 4th Avenue/9th Street subway station.

“The MTA wouldn’t even respond to City Council Member Brad Lander’s questions about when [improvements were] going to be done [at the station], and he was getting fairly indignant about it,” Avery explains.

She and Freedman decided to hold a demonstration to get the attention of the MTA.

The two scheduled workshops to create props for a mock-up of a “fantasy station,” inviting the community to contribute their ideas and designs for a better subway station. The group created cardboard and canvas backdrops of storefronts, trees, and artwork to hang along the exterior of the station’s entrance.

They say the MTA nixed their plans to stage their demonstration at the 4th Avenue/9th Street subway station, so they held it at the Old Stone House instead, where they set up their props and invited the press and local elected officials.

The pair’s hard work and persistence paid off, WNYC reporter Clarisa Diaz reveals, as the MTA ultimately met with the group and is currently working on improvements to the station.

Listen to the full story at WNYC.org.